I played the original 10 years ago. It was one of my favorite games. Needless to say I was SUPER excited when a sequel was FINALLY announced. Hype through the roof. That being said I kept my expectations moderate. "It would just be a fun game with some connections." That is actually how I felt for the first 1/3. Just a nice sequel but it progressively got better and better. I loved the story a lot. This really was the most fun I've had with a game in at least 2 years. One of my favorite games up there with the original. I just hope Square Enix doesn't keep us waiting another 14 years for a third game in the series. :P